Dance Your Way Into My Heart
by MsKRyan.ox
Summary: A new year, a new season and yet another high profile partner for Derek Hough, but does this celebrity have what it takes to not only take home the Mirror Ball Trophy, but the heart of the man that is making her see that she can find love again?
1. Prologue

**A/N 1: Hi there, **

**I just wanted to let you all know I am still writing 'It Was You,' but since I saw the **_**Dancing with the Stars**_** salute to classic Hollywood and the amazing choreography by Derek Hough and Christopher Scott this story has been hoping around in my head.**

**FYI this story starts taking place two years before the all-star season. Oh, and for the purposes of this story the Lynch Family and the band R5 doesn't exist in the present timeline (even though I absolutely love the Lynch Family and R5)…**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Prologue

* * *

_The formally dressed crowd was on their feet as he and several other choreographers that he knew stood on stage in some of the best outfits. In front of the choreographers stood a very beautiful blonde and brunette, but he couldn't make out their faces yet they felt so familiar to them, almost as though they put him at ease just by standing up there._

"_And now, ladies and gentlemen to find out which of these amazing choreographers will take home the Emmy," the blonde started and he immediately felt nervous. He was at the Emmy's and he was nominated for something. This had only happened twice before and now, for the first time he was standing in front of an audience awaiting his fate on whether he won or lost._

"_Please welcome to the stage," the brunette continued for the blonde, "This year's winners for Outstanding Reality Show Hosts Tim Gunn and Heidi Klum." The brunette and blonde walked off the stage as the presenters made their way to the microphone. Before stepping over to her next mark, the brunette grabbed his hand and squeezed it. The simple gesture made him feel calm again as he turned to listen to Tim and Heidi with baited breath._

"_Hi everybody," Heidi greeted, "It is now our pleasure to present the Emmy for Outstanding Choreography."_

"_The nominees are the brilliant artists who did this fantastic work this season and created that amazing dance number we all just saw," Tim explained, "They are for _Dancing with the Stars_ Derek Hough with two nominations: one solo nomination and one with Alison Holker. For Rogers and Hammerstien's _Carousel Live from the Lincoln Centre_ Warner Carlyle. For _So You Think You Can Dance _Sonya Tayeh, Mandy Jo Moore, Napoleon and Tabith Dumo and Travis Wall." The audience cheered as each nominee was announced. Heidi flipped the envelope around and broke the seal as she leaned towards the microphone._

"_And the Emmy goes to," Heidi Klum paused for dramatic effect, "Derek Hough-_Dancing with the Stars_. Congratulations." The Nokia theatre filled with the theme for _Dancing with the Stars_ as Derek hugged the other nominees. In the audience the cast and personnel of the show that made it to the _Emmy's _got to the feet and screamed and hollered the congratulations as Derek made his way to the mic, where the statue was waiting for him. Shaking hands with Tim Gunn, Derek took the statue that was being offered to him by Heidi Kulm before turning towards the audience complete shock all over his face._

"_Wow, wow, wow, wow, thank you guys I love you," Derek started, "I want to thank the BBC, Conrad Greene, Ashley Eden, um, the whole team at _Dancing with the Stars_. My mom, my dad, all my sisters – Julianne, I love you. Um, Corky and Shirley Ballas, Mark Ballas and uh, holy crap. Kay, baby, I love you and you look gorgeous tonight, thanks for putting up with me these past few months. Riker, daddy loves you. And thank you to the _Emmy's_ for inviting us to this party. Thank you so much I appreciate it. Thank you guys."_

* * *

Derek Hough shot up in bed as his alarm went off. Running his hands through his hair, Derek looked down confused. His dream had felt so alive and so real. And it also raised a lot of questions. Emmy's? Sure, he has two nominations again this year, but he was nominated with Chelsie, not Alison and who was Kay? And more importantly who was Riker and why did he call himself 'daddy?' He could place all the faces that he had seen in his dream except for two. The two that he couldn't see. Of course, it was the blonde that had apparently been hosting the show with the brunette that made him feel so comfortable and so at ease up there onstage moment before he was apparently going to be receiving an Emmy for his hard work and his great choreography.

Derek shook his head and threw the blankets. It was time to start the day. It was another year, another season and yet another high profile partner. He needed to get to LAX where according to Conrad Greene there was going to be a flight to Toronto where his celebrity partner would be waiting for him. The producers hadn't told him much except for she had been in a car accident the previous year that might limit some of her movement and the fact that he had to go to Toronto since she was so busy prepping for her summer concert tour.

Looking around his room, Derek pulled his suitcase out from his closest and began packing as many things as he could possibly fit into his suitcase. He had no idea what to be prepared for. He was sure that he was going to have to make appearances with his celebrity partner as she promoted her upcoming tour and he was sure that they would be practicing, but other than that he wasn't sure what to pack for. He had no idea what this partner was going to be like or if they were even able to dance.

Derek sighed. It may be another year, another season and yet another high profile partner, but he had a good feeling about it that he just couldn't shake.

* * *

"_In other entertainment news, it was just confirmed by his new manager, James Hawkins famous for the platinum recording group JK and his new reality show 'It's James' World' is newly engaged to his girlfriend of six months-_"

"Turn it off," a brunette snapped, as she walked into the recording studio, causing all of the occupants to share a wide eyed look. Since her divorce from their previous client and her former band mate James a year ago, the brunette had been getting better and better. She had been slowly moving on from the emotional onslaught that had happened when the tabloids had caught James cheating on her after her horrific car accident.

"Kayleigh," said one of the occupants, her manager and friend of close to fifteen years, Jenn, "Are you okay?" The brunette looked up at her manager before she began digging in for a sweater since it was always unnaturally cold in the recording studio.

"Okay, stupid question," Jenn responded, flicking her blonde hair behind her shoulder, "What did your doctor say?"

"My neck is progressing well," Kayleigh said, pulling on one of her old sweatshirts, "He's not worried about my back anymore, which is a good thing and he said, I can start going back to dancing which I am extremely thankful for."

"Scott'll be happy," the man sitting next to her said, "He's been driving Jenn crazy trying to figure out this upcoming tour."

"In all fairness, no one really knew if we were even going to be able to do the tour until she got the okay from her doctor, Jordan" Jenn said, looking over at her boyfriend Jordan, "I'll call Scott and tell him to start the choreography. Now, that also means we can continue negotiations with _Dancing with the Stars_, if you-"

"I'll do the show," Kayleigh said, "I need to get back to doing things for me. For the better part of the last few years, I've been doing things for other people, so I'm going to go do _Dancing with the Stars_, I'm going to do this summer tour and then I'll go from there." Jenn smiled, as Jordan prepped the recording booth.

"Alright," Kayleigh said, clapping her hands together, "Let's record an album."

"Okay," Jordan said, a slight smile creeping up onto his face, "Let's start with _99 Times_, the final two verses." Kayleigh walked into the recording booth and pulled on her headphones and listened as the music from her amazing back-up band that had stuck by her when James had decided to split for a solo career in reality television, had recorded.

'_For every 99 times, you looked me in the eye,  
You looked me in theye and swore you weren't lying.  
Well, I was so blind, I never saw the signs.  
I'm getting out tonight, oh, oh, oh._

_For every 99 times, you looked me in the eye,  
You looked me in the eye and swore you weren't lying.  
Well, I was so blind, I never saw the signs.  
I'm getting out tonight and you're not invited._

_Uh-oh…_'

Jenn turned to look at her boyfriend, a large smile spreading across her face as she heard and felt an emotion coming out of her friend that hadn't been there in a long time. Jordan was bobbing his head to the music, as a smile crept onto his face as well.

"I haven't heard that in a long time," Jenn thought out loud, as Kayleigh gestured to Jordan to play back the track for her.

"She wasn't the same after you outed James to _Us Week_-"

"Shh," Jenn quieted, looking towards the brunette in the recording booth to make sure she couldn't hear them, "She doesn't know it was me, who ratted him out to the tabloids." Jordan shook his head and looked over to Kayleigh, who had a large smile on her face as she listened to the full song.

"You still haven't told her? Katherine is going to kill you, if you don't tell her by the time the show starts."

"I know, I know, but how do you tell someone that," Jenn said, "I shouldn't have even known in the first place. If I had just gone home when I should've I never would have saw James and that whore he's going to marry together-"

"And we would probably still be stuck with his holier than thou attitude and she would still be miserable and depressed," Jordan said, "You did a good thing, but you should've told her rather than run to the tabloids." Jenn frowned and looked over to the brunette, who was signalling to Jordan to start the music for the next song.

"Try to get her to sing the solo version of _Heart Attack_," Jenn said, looking down at her blackberry to avoid the look that Jordan was giving her, "The fans that have stuck around will want to hear it sooner or later." Jordan nodded, as Kayleigh looked up at the pair.

"Okay, what next?"

* * *

A few hours late found Derek still sitting in the LAX airport waiting for his flight. Derek had a lot of energy now and no outlet to get rid of it. He was sure that he was going to go crazy if he didn't find a way to get up and do something before he got onto his flight, if it ever arrived. Derek ran his hands through his hair for what felt like the umpteenth time that day already and slouched in his seat as he began tapping his feet, not caring if people turned to look at him. It was then that his cell phone started ringing. Looking at the caller ID, Derek smiled when he saw the name of his best friend, Mark Ballas.

"What's up, my man," Derek greeted.

"Wondering where you are," Mark said, "It's the first day of Dancing with the Stars rehearsals. We usually go to lunch."

"Can't this year," Derek explained, "On my way to Toronto 'cause my partner can't get away from her crazy schedule until they announce her upcoming summer tour."

"Oh," Mark said, "They tell you anything about her?"

"Besides the fact that she was in a car accident and I had to fly to Toronto, where a car will be waiting to pick me up, nothing," Derek answered, "But, I got a really good feeling about this year."

"You've had a good feeling both times that you've won," Mark said, a hint of humor in his voice, "Guess I might as well quit now." The pair chuckled.

"No, it's not like that," Derek said, "It feels different this year." The pair continued to talk about what the upcoming season would have in store for them, who they thought would be good enough to make it to finale night and who wouldn't even make it past the first week.

"Maks is a great choreographer," Derek said, "But they've given him another partner that probably doesn't know her right from her left. It isn't-" It was then that a well-dressed man tapped the dancer's shoulder.

"Excuse me, Mr. Hough," the man asked, as Derek turned to face him holding his cell phone away from his mouth.

"Yes?"

"I've been sent by my employer to pick you up," the man explained, "If you'll just follow me to the private jet, we can be on our way." Derek looked at the man bewildered. Private jet?

"Um, what about my things," Derek asked, lifting his carry-on onto his shoulder, "I checked a couple of bags."

"The baggage carriers have already loaded them onto the plane, sir," the man explained, "I'm sorry. I thought your producers had told you that my employer had sent her private jet to pick you up." Derek followed the man, hanging up his cell phone completely forgetting about Mark still being on the other end. Who was this very generous partner and why was the production team being so secretive about his partner this year? He wasn't getting indication on who it was from her own employee. Derek huffed. This was getting extremely annoying.

* * *

The flight had been relaxing and even given him the time to start trying to choreograph the very first dance that he and this mystery partner were going to be doing on the very first show of the season. He didn't know whether it was going to be too hard to easy, but he was could always change it if necessary. Stepping out of the airport's warm confines, Derek shivered and then sighed.

True to the producer's word, a car was waiting for Derek when he walked out of Pearson airport and into the chilling Toronto air, but it wasn't what he had expected. He had expected a tiny little rental car that was under the name of the celebrity and would serve the purpose of getting him where he needed to be in the following weeks. What he had received was a town car with a on-cal driver that would take him wherever he needed to go at a moment's notice. Derek got into the car and looked around. Whoever this celebrity was, they were obviously trying to make him comfortable.

"Um, where are we going," Derek asked, as the driver got into the driver's seat. The driver looked at the professional dancer through the rear view mirror and smiled.

"We're off to Ms. Ryan's condo near the ACC and Roger's Centre," the driver explained, "Ms. Ryan has made arrangements for you to stay in her condo, while she's staying in her loft closer to the recording studio." Derek's jaw had dropped. Ms. Ryan? It couldn't be. The Kayleigh Ryan? The K of J&K? Wow, it definitely was going to be a good season, but then he remembered what the driver had said.

"She doesn't have to do that," Derek assured the driver, "You can drop me off at a nearby hotel and I'll just get a room."

"Ms. Ryan has given me direct orders to drive you straight to the condo," the driver argued, "She will meet us there once she's finished recording." Derek nodded, knowing that he wasn't going to win this argument, not when the driver was obviously very loyal to his employer.

"So, how long have you been working for Ms. Ryan," Derek asked, not being comfortable with the silence.

"Since I was hired by the record company, sir," the driver said, "Once the record company was no longer going to pay my salary to chauffeur Ms. Ryan and Mr. Hawkins around Toronto, Ms. Ryan hired me to be a part of their team. Told me that she enjoyed our little chats and she couldn't lose me as part of the close knit team." Derek smiled. He had been right. Kayleigh Ryan had a very large heart. It hurt him to see her go through a very public divorce with her weasel of an ex-husband and ex-band mate.

"Sir, do you mind if I turn on the radio," the driver asked, once Derek disappeared into his own thoughts. Derek looked at the driver and shook his head.

"Not at all," he assured the driver, "And why don't we drop the sir as well, name's Derek."

"Okay, Derek," the driver said, "My name's Matt."

"Hi Matt," Derek said, "So, what am I getting myself into with Ms. Ryan?"

"Well, she's a perfectionist sir, sorry Derek," Matt said, as he stopped at a red light, "She's been like that since J&K started. I probably shouldn't tell you how many arguments have broken out in that exact backseat between Ms. Ryan and Mr. Hawkins about things not being up to her standards." Derek nodded. So, she was driven. Anyone could see that when they saw her perform. Kayleigh was definitely the most talented of the pair.

"Will Mr. Hawkins be around during the next few weeks," Derek said, feeling his own hands clench slightly even though he wasn't sure why. It was then that he noticed Matt's own eyes darken at the mention of his employer's former husband.

"If he knows what's good for him, he won't show up period," Matt said, and Derek knew that at that exact moment it was best to drop the entire conversation all together. Derek leaned back in his seat and took in the sights on the snow covered city. It was definitely colder than he expected to be. He was definitely going to have to buy some warmer clothing, but that could all wait until he met Kayleigh. Derek smiled. It was going to be a great season. Maybe even the best, because he definitely couldn't shake his good feeling.

* * *

**A/N 2: Let me know what you think and the song _99 Times_ belongs to Kate Voegele**

**xo**


	2. I: Ringtones

**A/N 1: This chapter is dedicated to Dream01 who gave me the confidence to update this story. Hope you enjoy it.**

* * *

Chapter One: Ringtones

* * *

To say that Derek wasn't sure what to expect when he got out of the car was an understatement. Kayleigh Ryan, THE Kayleigh Ryan had graciously allowed him to stay in HER condo since she was taking up residence in her loft while recording her new album. It was like he was stuck between a rock and a hard place, he could be stuck in the most uncomfortable situation possible or he could be so comfy that he might never want to leave.

"Sir," Matt called, forgetting that Derek had asked him to call him by his first name for the moment, "Are you okay?" The blonde dancer looked at the driver and then again out the window that was facing the entrance to a very lavish building right in the heart of the city.

"Uh yeah," Derek answered, "I guess I'm just..." Matt offered the dancer a smile.

"Overwhelmed," Matt offered, "Ms. Ryan had the exact same reaction when her real estate agent showed it to her several years ago. Of course the building has gone through a few changes since she bought the condo, but it still holds a part of her heart." Derek smiled, grabbed his bag and opened the door after offering the older gentlemen a smile. Stepping out into the chilling Toronto air once more, Derek looked up at the tall building before coming face to the head with a short brunette that was taking animatedly into a Bluetooth headset while looking down at her iPhone.

"Yes, yes," the brunette said into the Bluetooth, "I already said yes, you crazy woman. I am standing right in front of him. Yes, I'll make sure he gets up to the condo. You want me to do what?" Derek looked at the short brunette with a slightly confused look on his face.

"I am not dealing with your demon cat," the brunette snapped, "Ugh...fine. Fine, whatever, you so owe me. I don't care if I'm your assistant, dealing with your demon of a cat is not in my job description. I'll quit if you even think about adding it. Yes, I will. I'm serious this time. I'll do it. Ugh, I so hate you right now. Get back to recording or Jenn will have my head. Bye, sis love you." The short brunette tapped the screen of her iPhone before looking up at Derek.

"We've been expecting you, Mr. Hough. I'm Alex, Kayleigh's assistant. She asked me to take you up to the condo and answer any questions you might have," the brunette explained, holding her hand out to shake with Derek's, "She'll be by in an hour or so." Alex signaled for a couple of men dressed in black to take Derek's bags and carry them to the condo. Derek watched as the two burly men were ordered around by a woman half their size.

The group of three led the dancer into the lavish building where Derek was met with a crack security team that had him sign several papers that enabled him to enter and exit the building without any issues.

"Now, you'll need one key for the elevator," Alex explained, as she led the four men towards the elevator, "You can get onto the elevator easily enough, but to get to any floor in the building, you need a key. There is also a key for stair access, but that key is in her apartment. These keys keep all of the crazy nut cases from camping outside the actual door of Kayleigh's apartment." Derek nodded, and watched as Alex turned the key and pressed the 24th floor button before removing the key.

"Any questions so far," Alex asked, as they rode to the twenty-four floor. Derek thought for a moment.

"One really important one," Derek said, "Where are we going to be practicing?" Alex chuckled.

"All business I see, you and her are going to get along just fine," she commented, "Kayleigh had a dance studio constructed in the vacant condo below hers when the building was going under a massive remodel three years ago. Her condo is the only condo with two floors in the entire building." Derek nodded, as the door slide open as soon as they reached the twenty-fourth floor. Derek was then led to a door around the corner, near the end of the hall.

"Alright, this key," Alex said, showing him a key with what looked like to be an actual diamond on it, "Is the one that gets you into the apartment. Now, watch because Kayleigh forgot to remove the demon before going to the doctor's this morning. We don't want to let him out." Derek looked at his celebrity partner confused for a moment before he saw a small black and white cat watching the group very curiously from a leather arm chair.

"Hi demon cat," Alex said, looking right at the small bundle of fur, "Your mommy wants you to come to loft for a few days-" _Hiss._ Derek's eyes widened before the small creature jumped from the couch and walked right over to him looking at him very curiously.

"Hey," Alex said, "Don't show him any…okay, now I've seen everything." The small cat that Alex had only ever referred to as demon cat since Derek had met her was now twinning himself in-between Derek's legs purring very loudly. Derek crouched down and scratched the small bundle of fur right between the ears.

"He seems pretty harmless," Derek said, as he continued to stroke the cat, "He doesn't look like he could hurt a fly."

"Yeah, well, apparently he hasn't taken that much of a liking towards me and I've known his owner since high school," Alex explained, as the cat lolled his head towards giving her a slight stink eye, "I'm serious that demon hates me. Now, would you like a tour?" It was then that an obnoxious buzzing filled the air from Alex's hand. Alex quickly ignored it and shoved it deep into her back jean pocket.

"Uh, sure," Derek said, noticing that the two burly men had already taken his bags and placed them somewhere in the apartment. Alex led him through the condo showing him everything that he'll ever need and showing him how to work what he already didn't.

"You don't need to worry about groceries," Alex explained, "I have a regularly scheduled delivery of food and utilities coming to the condo every week that you're here and if you ever need anything added to the grocery list, I have left my e-mail on the notepad in the kitchen. Now, I guess I'll just round up the little-" It was then that Alex was interrupted by a very loud rendition of _The Hamster Dance_. Alex groaned as she fished her iPhone out of her pocket.

"I thought I told you to stop changing my ringtones," she said, answering the phone, "I always answer your calls. I would lose my job if I didn't answer your calls. Yes, he's here. You mean, you have no idea who it is. Ha, you're in for a good surprise then." Alex looked at Derek, who was now not hiding the fact that he was listening in on her conversation.

"What," Alex shrieked, "Why didn't you tell me you were already here? You did? I think I would have noticed if I had received a text. I'm telling you, I didn't receive your text. Fine whatever, we'll be there in a few minutes." Alex hung up the phone and rolled her eyes causing the dancer to chuckle.

"Does your boss usually change your ringtones," he asked, as he watched Alex leaning against the marble island in the middle of the kitchen.

"On a weekly basis," Alex said, a hint of humor in her voice, "If we hadn't been friends before I took the job as her personal assistant, I wouldn't be putting up with this. Come on, she's already in the dance studio waiting."

"I thought she was busy recording," Derek said, as Alex led him through another hallway and down a set of stairs towards the dance studio that Kayleigh had constructed when she had first bought the condo, "That's what Matt said anyway."

"Well apparently her doctor cleared her to start dancing again and Scott, her choreographer couldn't wait to get her back in the studio," Alex explained, "Don't worry, he's not allowed to even enter the condo when the two of you are working. Orders by the lunatic herself, she's knows what he's like and she's not about to have him stepping on your toes." Alex led Derek back through a condo towards a normally locked door.

"I can't believe we didn't hear her come in," Alex said, "You can normally hear her when she walks on hardwood or laminate flooring with her heels." Derek chuckled.

"Well, this is where I leave you," the assistant said, "Have fun." Derek chuckled again, and made his way down a flight of stairs and another doorway. From behind the door he heard an unfamiliar introduction to an unfamiliar song and then it was followed by a very familiar voice.

'_Right from the start,  
You were a thief,  
You stole my heart,  
And I, your willing victim._

_I let you see the parts of me  
That weren't all that pretty  
And with every touch you fixed them_…'

Derek opened the door slightly to see a five foot four brunette dancing around a beautiful dance studio to an instrumental track and singing every word to unreleased song. Derek was entranced by her subtle movements and how he could almost feel his own heart breaking along with hers.

'_Now, you've been talkin' in your sleep, oh oh  
Things you never say to me, oh oh  
You tell me that you've had enough of our love,  
Our love._

_Just give me a reason  
Just a little bit's enough  
Just a second, we're not broken,  
Just bent and we can learn to love again._

_It's in the stars, it's been written  
In the scar on our hearts.  
We're not broken, just bent,  
And we can learn to love again.'_

The music came to end and the brunette looked up from the floor as someone started clapping behind her. Kayleigh turned to come face to face with the man that would be taking up residence in her condo for the following weeks.

"That was beautiful," Derek complimented, "It's too bad our first dance is the jive otherwise I would have suggested we start with that dance." Kayleigh smiled, before looking down at her feet feeling slightly insecure.

"The song isn't finished yet," she explained, "I started writing it back before…" She trailed off, but Derek understood the underlying meaning behind her words. She had been writing that song before her divorce from the asshat she had been married too.

"So, I'm Derek-"

"Oh, I know who you are," Kayleigh said, looking at him with a look of amusement of her face.

"And I know who you are, Miss Kayleigh Ryan," Derek joked. The pair laughed.

"Okay, it might seem weird that I'm going to do this, but-" Kayleigh didn't even finish speaking before she launched herself into Derek's arms. Derek stumbled back a few steps, as he himself laughed. He hadn't expected to have one of his favourite launch herself into his arms like that. Kayleigh quickly released him.

"Sorry, sorry," she said, "It's just I've been a fan of you since you danced with Jennie Garth and-" Derek waved her off, but inside he was jumping with absolute glee. Kayleigh Ryan was a fan of his. Kayleigh Ryan was a fan of his! She had seen him dance on national television and she was a fan of his. On the outside however, he acted like a complete professional.

"Well, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a fan of you as well," Derek said, as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, "Now, what do you think should we get to work, Ms. Ryan?" Kayleigh looked at him, with a quirked eyebrow and amused smirk on her face.

"I think we shall Mr. Hough after all we have a standard to live up to and it's not even the first week of competition," the singer answered. The pair descended into a fit of laughter. This was going to be a very interesting pairing.

* * *

Alex walked in a couple of days later to see the two of them going over the basic steps of the jive with a package that had been hand delivered to Jenn at the recording studio by one of the _Dancing with the Stars _producers_._ Derek and Kayleigh were too busy looking in the mirror on the south wall to see her placing a package near the large sound system where they had some arbitrary song on while they practiced. From her place beside the main part of the sound system, she could see that they had taken masking tape and taped off certain areas that represented places into the actual ABC studio. She could also see Kayleigh mouthing the words to the song that was playing while Derek showed her the next step. Alex thought now, was the best time to interrupt their practice.

"Yo, crazy lady," Alex called, as she quickly shut off the sound system. Kayleigh shook her head and looked in the direction of the woman that she considered her sister, "Package came for a Mr. Derek Hough and Ms. Kayleigh Ryan at the recording studio today. Oh, and by the way Jenn apparently didn't like your little change in schedule this morning." Kayleigh rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, well, you can tell her as my friend she can bite me and then as you can tell her as my manager that my throat was sore and I didn't feel like singing overly emotional songs today," Kayleigh explained, causing the shorter brunette to chuckle.

"Okay, but expect several overly emotional songs tomorrow when you return to the studio," Alex said, before walking out of the studio leaving the two partners alone one more.

"Ugh, maybe I won't go in tomorrow either," Kayleigh grumbled before looking over at Derek, "So, what did the whack-a-doodles down at ABC studios send us?" Derek looked at the singer curiously.

"Whack-a-doodles?'

"Yeah, my experience with producers tells me that they are all whack-a-doodles," Kayleigh explained, a look of amusement on her face, "Now, don't give me that look some of my closest friends are whack-a-doodles."

"Oh really, like who," Derek asked, a amused smile spreading across his face.

"My friend Jordan," she said, "I was friends with him before he was a whack-a-doodle and I'm still friends with him after he became a whack-a-doodle, so maybe that makes me a whack-a-doodle too." Derek started to laugh, which sent Kayleigh into a fit of laughter herself.

"Did you seriously just use the word 'whack-a-doodle' in a sentence three time," Derek asked, wiping his eyes as they began to water from how hard he was laughing. Kayleigh, who couldn't stop laughing herself just nodded in response. The two continued to laugh leaning on each other for support as they slowly got closer and closer to the ground.

"So, you never said what they sent us," Kayleigh said, as she finally calmed down.

"Our song," Derek said, "They forgot to give it to me before I left Los Angeles, so they sent a producer to deliver it to me."

"It was probably a newbie," Kayleigh said, looking up at the pristine white ceiling of the dance studio, "I highly doubt anybody high on the food chain would be sent to hand deliver a CD. I'm already having a hard enough time believing they sent a producer instead of production assistant to deliver it instead."

"I think you'll like the song," Derek said, as he loaded the disc into the CD player. Kayleigh sat up and looked up at him with quirked eyebrow before music began to fill the air. Kayleigh started laughing again.

"Seriously?"

"Seriously," Derek answered.

"What? Do they expect me to sing too," Kayleigh said, as she got to her feet and started practicing a few of the moves Derek had shown her. Derek watched as Kayleigh began to sing along with the chorus.

_Hand clappin'  
Hip shakin'  
Heart breakin'  
There's no fakin' what you feel,  
When you're right at home, yeah._

_Music's in my soul  
I can hear it every day,  
And every night,  
it's the one thing on my mind._

It was then that Derek joined her in doing the basic steps to the music. It was almost like in that moment the pair's minds became one and they didn't even think about what they were going to do next and just did it. They became synchronised in their movements as the music continued to play and if Derek hadn't decided to try a difficult move it, probably would have stayed that way instead of the two of them falling over and right onto top of one another. In the background, the song was still playing.

_Can't imagine what it'd be like,  
Without the sounds of all my heroes,  
Singing all my favourite songs,  
So, I can sing along._

And it was then that the perspective shifted. Kayleigh looked up at him, both of them breathless. Derek was smirking with mischief, while his short blonde hair was falling over his forehead. He saw Kayleigh's brown eyes widen, her pupils darken and then she leaned up and kissed him. Less than a second later, he kissed back. The two continued to kiss until Kayleigh pulled away.

"Derek," she said, looking up at him with bruised lips, "Derek, Derek, oh my god are you okay?" It was then that Derek shook his head and looked down at the singer underneath him and noticed that her lips weren't swollen and realised that the kiss had just been a daydream.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he assured her, "You okay?"

"Umm yeah," Kayleigh said, brushing her pant legs.

"Okay, you want to try that again?"

* * *

**A/N: Let me know what you think.**

**xo**


	3. II: A Glass Vase

Chapter Two: A Glass Vase

* * *

It seemed as though Jenn couldn't wait for Kayleigh to come in the following day, so a few hours later found both Derek and Kayleigh sitting in the recording studio listening to Jenn go on and on about commitments that were needed to be made and about how Jordan needed to finish mixing the tracks, which meant that Kayleigh needed to finish recording her vocals.

"Jenn," Kayleigh said, trying to interrupt her manager mid-tirade, "Jenn." The blonde however continued to talk about how this was the exact kind of behaviour she didn't need and that Kayleigh really needed to focus on the album getting finished.

"Jenn," Kayleigh said, a little louder causing the blonde to look at her, "I'm here now, aren't I? So, let's finish this. The sooner I finish my vocals, the sooner Derek and I can go back to practicing." Jenn looked at her friend for a moment before nodding.

"Okay, okay," she said, "You've already finished recording most of the album, we just need you to finish a couple more songs and then we can all be on our merry way. Now, Mr. Hough-"

"Derek," Derek interrupted, "It's Derek."

"Yes, Derek, if you would be so kind as to-"

"He doesn't have to leave Jenn," Kayleigh interrupted, crossing her arms over her chest, "Derek can sit in here, its fine. It definitely won't be Derek Hough we need to worry about breaking a confidentiality agreement." Jenn looked at the brunette curiously before nodding. Derek smiled and watched as Kayleigh offered him another smile before stepping into the recording booth. Derek watched in fascination as she took a couple of deep breaths and cued for Jordan to play the music.

_I don't wanna be left behind,  
Distance was a friend of mine,  
Catching breath in a web of lies,  
I've spent most of my life…_

_Riding waves, playing acrobat,  
Shadow boxing the other half,  
Learning how to react  
I've spent most of my time…_

_Catching my breath, letting it go,  
Turning my cheek for the sake of the show,  
Now, that you know this is my life,  
I won't be told what's supposed to be right._

Derek watched in awe as the woman he had seen and come to somewhat know in a very brief 72 hours come to life behind the microphone. She had the same passion in her eyes that Julianne said he had when he danced. It was like she was putting her entire heart and soul into this very song.

"Amazing, isn't it," Jordan said, noticing the look on Derek's face, "I haven't seen her like that in a long time." Derek looked over at the singer's friend curiously.

"What do you mean," Derek asked, "She wasn't always like this?"

"Not since the accident," Jenn explained, "That accident turned her entire world upside down. One minute she had a _loving_ husband, an amazing career, J&K were going to be shoe ins for another Grammy, the choreography for the tour had been some of the hardest stuff they had ever accomplished and then next minute she had a douche bag of an ex-husband, the tour was put on hold because of her injuries, the album was permanently shelved and the recording contract was about to slip from her hands." Derek turned back to the singer as she continued to sing a song that had entranced him from the moment she opened her mouth.

_You help me see,  
The beauty in everything._

_Catching my breath, letting it go,  
Turning my cheek for the sake of the show,  
Now, that you know this is my life,  
I won't be told what's supposed to be right._

_Catching my breath, letting it go,  
Turning my cheek for the sake of the show,  
Now, that you know this is my life,  
I won't be told what's supposed to be right._

_Catch my breath,  
Catch my breath,  
No one can hold me back,  
I ain't got time for that._

_Catch my breath  
Won't let 'em get me down  
It's all so simple now  
It's all so simple…_

Derek smiled as he watched Kayleigh close her eyes and get lost in the final verse of the song. Already ideas were filling his head as he thought about the weeks that were to come. He could already see their freestyle. It scared him how far he could see into their future just by listening to her sing. Looking towards her manager and producer, Derek saw that they too were affected by the words that the brunette was singing. Slowly the music came to an end and Kayleigh's voice faded.

"Okay," Jenn said, pressing a button, "Do you want to take five or-"

"No," Kayleigh said, shaking her head at the same time, "Jordan, play the music for _Original_. I want to see if I can still hit that note." Jordan nodded his head as his jaw went slack. Quickly playing the music, the three other occupants went silent as Kayleigh closed her eyes and listened to the music.

_Way back before she hit the scene,  
And she became the Indie Queen  
She was a girl with nothin' big to say_

"She hasn't ordered me to play a specific song in...I don't know how long," Jordan said, as they watched the singer turn into the woman that they had once known. Jordan turned to look at Derek.

"What did you do to her?"

Derek gawked as the man that was sitting in front of her turned to him. He was at a loss for words. From what he understood, when Kayleigh's marriage to James went downhill she changed and she changed so drastically that her friends barely recognized her. Derek shrugged in response.

"Well, whatever you did," Jenn said, looking at the dancer now, "Keep doing it. She's back to normal and as long as she doesn't find ou-" Jenn quickly cut herself off and made herself busy pretending to look at an e-mail on her iPhone. Derek looked at the manager suspiciously for a moment before turning back to listen to Kayleigh sing the next verse.

_Way back before the interviews  
Before her music made the news  
She was a nothin',  
No one talked about_

* * *

"I'm sorry about that," Kayleigh said, as she and Derek left the building and walked towards the car that was waiting for them, "Jenn can get really impatient at times and with this album, it's just been-" Derek waved her off.

"It's okay," Derek answered, "It really is. I understand that you can't put your career on hold just because you're doing Dancing with the Stars. I wouldn't be here if you could." Kayleigh chuckled and smiled at Matt, who was holding the door open for her.

"So, I know you probably want to get back to the studio," Kayleigh said, as she kicked off her high heeled boots, "And don't get me wrong, I want to too, but you're the guest in my hometown and I don't want you leaving here until you experience it." Derek chuckled.

"It's a little cold to experience Toronto isn't it," Derek said, as he pointed out the car window to show her that snow had begun to fall. Kayleigh rolled her eyes.

"It's Canada, Derek," she said, "Canadians never would have invented one of the greatest sports in the world if a little snow stopped us. Yes, this is the city that called in the army when we had several feet of snow on our hands, but-"

"Wait," Derek said, a hint of laughter in his voice, "The army?" Kayleigh rolled her eyes. That had been an interesting winter.

"Yeah, I was in high school with Jenn and Jordan when we got word that the mayor at the time had called in the relief efforts because the snow was and I quote, 'crippling the city.' We had an ice storm, last year and that crippled the city more than the snow ever did. Matt, Jenn, Jordan, Alex, Scott, my friend Katherine and I were stuck in my apartment for a week with no power because the ice had frozen the stairwell doors shut." Derek looked at her wide eyed, thinking back to the apartment that they were going to be returning to.

"Oh no, that was the loft," Kayleigh said, seeing Derek's face, "Don't worry, that apartment isn't that bad, they at least have a back-up generator for the entire building and I have one specifically for my apartment." Derek chuckled and nodded his head. It seemed like something that all the magazines said she would do. She let him have the better apartment, while she took the one that could quite possibly keep her hostage if another snow storm were to hit the city.

"So," he said, looking out the window, "What do you recommend we do, this is your city after all." Kayleigh looked at Derek and looked out at the passing city from her window. There was only so many things a person could do in Toronto in the middle of winter. The car came to a stop at a red light and a familiar restaurant name caught her eye.

"Matt," she called, "Drop us off on the Danforth. You know where."

* * *

It wasn't long after Matt dropped Kayleigh and Derek off at the intersection of Ferrier Ave and the Danforth did Derek find himself sitting at a private table in a restaurant where Kayleigh knew the head chef personally. He was looking over the menu as his new celebrity partner sipped at the wine the owner had personally brought over.

"So," she asked, "See anything you think you'll enjoy?"

"What do you recommend," he asked, looking through the menu at what the restaurant had to offer. Kayleigh flipped open her menu and looked over what the restaurant offered as well. Derek watched as the brunette in front of him pursed her lips in an adorable pout as she looked over the familiar menu.

"Well, I always enjoy the grilled calamari," she explained, "And their tzatziki is almost like my Yiayia's. I guess, we'll just have to get both to share." Derek laughed and nodded his head as he continued to look over the menu for what he would like to eat for dinner. As he looked through the dishes they had to offer, an older gentlemen came gliding over with another glass of wine is hand, speaking very quickly in what Derek could only guess was Greek. Kayleigh looked over at him and offered him a small smile.

"I seriously wonder why they think I understand them when they speak that quickly," Kayleigh whispered to him, causing Derek to almost spit out his mouthful of wine, before turning to the older gentlemen and sharing a pleasant greeting with the man as Derek watched.

'_I wonder how well she knows him,_' Derek thought as he watched Kayleigh kiss both of the man's cheek as he squeezed her in his grasp. The two shared a quiet conversation before the man disappeared back in the kitchen leaving the glass of wine behind.

"That man tries to get me drunk every time I come here," Kayleigh joked, taking her seat once again, "It's a good thing I quickly came to understand that λευκό κρασί (lef-co kra-si) meant white wine or I would have been drunk as a skunk on my first visit here alone." Derek shook his head, trying badly to hide his laughter from the brunette in front of him.

"Go ahead," she said, a smile spreading across her own face, "It's okay, you can laugh." The pair burst into laughter. Derek wiped his eyes from the tears that threatened to fall and looked towards the brunette.

"So," Derek said, "How often do you come here for him to try and get you drunk?"

"Not often," Kayleigh answered, "It's usually a nice little treat for my team, they all enjoy my Yiayia's cooking so much that I bring them here instead of bombarding her with a large home cooked meal."

"So, you know the owner well?"

"He gave me, my first job," she explained, "Really he just owed my grandfather a favour, so he hired me to wait tables and be a hostess on weekends. It wasn't that bad of an experience, it's actually how I-" Kayleigh paused and took a sip of her wine. Derek mentally cursed himself and then cursed her ex-husband. It was very clear to him that there were many aspects of her life that her ex-husband had been a part of and had left a rather large imprint on.

"If you don't mind me asking," Derek started, "Why did you think he-"

"Was the one," Kayleigh finished for him. Derek nodded, while Kayleigh looked off into the distance. Turning to see what she was looking at Derek saw a lone table sitting in the corner and if you looked close enough to a space on the wall, there was a carving that held the initials KR & JH.

"He was a great guy back then," Kayleigh explained, "He was the first guy that didn't look at me like I was their sister or just their good friend. He made me feel amazing. I thought it was too good to be true at the time. But, James, he swept me off my feet, he made me feel like I was the only girl in the world. He fit in with my crazy family and he stood by me when things would get hard, and then he changed."

"Changed," Derek repeated, "How?"

"The guy the cameras saw was very different to the guy that I saw at home," Kayleigh explained, "He thought he was better than everyone else that we came into contact with and then he started getting possessive. I couldn't even go out to have a drink with our team without having him with me. I think it was because he was cheating on me that he was afraid that I was doing the same to him."

"Did you?"

"No," Kayleigh answered immediately, "I can't stand people who do that. If you fell in love with someone else, while being in a relationship with another person, you never actually loved that person to begin with, so why hurt someone even more when you can just fess up to the fact that they aren't who you want to be with anymore. I find it selfish and emotionally and mentally abusive. It just takes one experience to scar a person for life." Derek took a sip of his wine and took in the blank look that had come across Kayleigh's face. It was obvious now more than ever that her ex-husband had damaged her more than anyone could have imagined.

"Have you told him any of this," Derek asked, hoping that maybe it would spark some sort of reaction from her. He didn't like the blank look that was on her face. It made her look like a shell of the person that he had been laughing with only moments ago.

"No," Kayleigh answered, "But, I'm sure the glass vase I threw at his head got the message across." Derek spat out his drink just as the waiter returned to get the order. Kayleigh chuckled and passed Derek a spare napkin.

"A glass vase," Derek repeated, "Really?"

"Yeah, I was pretty angry," Kayleigh recalled, "I was so angry that I took the vase that his mother had given us as a wedding present and chucked it at him. He ducked just in time, but the thing didn't even shatter when it came into contact with the wall. I just kept throwing it at him until he ran out the front door. That's when it finally shattered." Derek chuckled, as he looked over the menu trying to finally decide on what to order.

"I would have loved to have been there to see that," Derek commented, before finally giving the waiter his order. The waiter quickly thanked them and made his way quickly to the kitchen, the two partners sat in silence for a little bit longer before Kayleigh turned to him a bit of a smile on her face.

"So," she started, "What does this season have in store for us?"

* * *

Kayleigh and Derek stumbled into her apartment a few hours later. The waiter had kept pouring them drink after drink, so it was pretty safe to assume that one of them were pretty hammered after dinner. Kayleigh giggled as she almost tripped over a lone boot that was sitting in the hall.

"That wasn't there before," she muttered, as she leaned against the wall. Derek watched her carefully. He could hold his alcohol better than she could that was for sure and even though this was her apartment, there was no way she was going to the loft even if Matt was driving.

"Are you okay," he asked, trying to keep the brunette on her feet.

"Not really," Kayleigh whispered, her finger in front of her lips as if motioning for the dancer to be quiet, "It's been…" Kayleigh paused as she looked down at her fingers and slowly counted how many months it had been since her divorced had been finalised.

"It's been," Kayleigh started again, "It's been a year since my divorce and Jenn has been such a slave driver that I haven't had…"Kayleigh trailed off as she looked around her apartment. It was then that she jumped when she spotted her cat sitting in the middle of the hall looking at her and Derek very curiously.

"Sorry," she said, looking at Derek, "What was I saying?" Derek chuckled at the brunette before answering.

"You were saying something about Jenn being a slave driver," Derek answered, causing his celebrity partner to nod, remembering what she had been saying.

"Yeah, blondie can be such a slave driver and it's because of blondie's tendencies to drive me into the ground that I haven't had..."

Kayleigh trailed off again as she laid her head down on Derek's shoulder. The blonde looked at the singer in front of him realising that she had fallen asleep mid-sentence. Derek gave the sleeping brunette a small smile before picking her up in a bridal carry and carrying her over to her room. Hopefully, she'd feel better in the morning.

* * *

**A/N: Let me know what you think**

**xo**


	4. III: Dream Sequence

Chapter Three: Dream Sequence

* * *

_"Maybe I've already found someone that can take care of my needs better than you ever could," James screamed at Kayleigh as the two of them stood on opposites sides of their one of kind, solid wood dining room table._

_"Well, I hope that she can deal with your mood swings better than I ever could," Kayleigh snapped back in response, "It's like I don't even know who you are anymore."_

_"I'm not the same person I was when we meant Ryan," James responded._

_"Oh ain't that the truth," Kayleigh scoffed, "The James I married wouldn't have cheated on me, he would have stayed home with me after my accident instead of finding some ditz with hairspray and blonde hair dye where her brain should be just so she could suck his dick."_

_"I would have stayed at home if you had taken care of my needs and not just yours!"_

_"Do I need to remind you that I COULD HAVE DIED," Kayleigh screamed at her husband, raising her voice for the first time since their angry conversation started, "Or did you forget that I was in a horrific car accident."_

_"Oh, here we go again," James snapped, throwing his hands up in the air, "Here we go with that damn accident again. All I ever hear anymore is the accident this, the accident that. Even the paparazzi ask about you, does anyone even care about me anymore?" Kayleigh folded her arms across her chest as she rolled her eyes at her husband's need for constant attention._

_"That's what happens when a person almost dies you insensitive jerk," Kayleigh explained slowly, "Forget it __James, I am done with this arguing and I am most certainly done with you. I can't believe you, Madison was the woman that you hired to help Jazmine with my hair and make-up."_

_"Yeah, well, I'm thinking of promoting her-"_

_"To what the woman who you regularly have suck your dick," Kayleigh snapped, "Well, I wish you both all the best in the world. Have a nice life, James, now get the fuck out, I'll have Adam send you the divorce papers." It was with those words that James turned and looked at his now reluctant wife with wide eyes._

_"You psychotic bitch," he roared at her, "First you're kicking me out of the house we both bought and now, you're going to use MY lawyer to screw me out of everything I own!"_

_"I bought the house, James, you spent all of your money on sports cars and that failed restaurant," Kayleigh answered in response, "And as for Adam being your lawyer, I'm quite sure he'd disagree. Adam was my friend, long before he was my lawyer and he was MY lawyer long before he was ours." James turned and slammed his fist into the wall in anger. He knew that Kayleigh was right. There was no doubt in both of their minds that Adam would represent her in their divorce proceedings._

_"And you can keep everything YOU bought, I don't want any of it," Kayleigh shouted at him, "Here, why don't you start by taking the vase that your mother gave us." Instead of just simply handing the heavy glass vase to her future ex-husband, she threw it straight at his head._

_"Are you crazy," James __screamed, "Are you fucking crazy?" He didn't even bother to wait for answer as he fled from the room and out the front door of the house. Kayleigh was hot on his heels, pulling her engagement and wedding rings off of her left hand. As soon as the pair was out the front door and on their very public front lawn, she threw the rings at him and went back inside the house. _

_Slamming the door closed behind her, Kayleigh leaned against it her eyes filling with tears as the situation hit her. She was getting divorced, something she never thought she would do. She sunk to her knees as the tears fell unable to do anything else._

_"Don't cry, Mommy," said a small little voice, as Kayleigh felt two small arms wrap themselves around her shoulders. The teary-eyed confused brunette looked up and came face to face with a little girl with long blonde hair and very familiar brown eyes. She was no longer in the home that held the bitter memory of her impending divorce, no, she was in a home that looked like a loving, happy family lived there._

_"Don't cry, Mommy," the little girl repeated, as she wrapped her small arms around the brunette's neck, "Riker didn't mean to make you cry, he just misses you so much when you go away with Aunties Jenn, Alex and Kathy."_

_Kayleigh looked at the little girl in confusion. She had no idea who this little girl was, but the girl obviously thought that she was her mother. _

_"Riker Oliver Hough," yelled a voice that Kayleigh found familiar, "You get your butt down here right now and apologize to your mother!"_

_"No," screamed a young boy's voice back in response._

_"Riker Oliver, I am going to give you until the count of three," answered Derek, as he leaned against the staircase. Kaylee watched the older version of the man she had just met hours ago begin the count to three much like her own mother had done for her. As soon as Older Derek reached two, a small blonde blur came racing down the stairs towards her, not even giving his father the chance to get to three._

_"I'm sorry, Mommy," the little boy murmured into her waist as he wrapped his slightly longer arms around her, "I love you, please don't leave me." Kayleigh looked at the little boy helplessly. Somewhere deep inside, she knew that she had to go, she knew that she had commitments that needed to be kept, appearances that needed to be made, but a very large part of her wanted to stay right there. She wanted nothing more than to wrap both the little girl and little boy in her arms and stay right there._

_"Mommy, Daddy look," said a new voice as the scene changed around her, "Look at what I can do now."_

_"Ross, please be careful," she heard Derek say from behind her, just as she felt his arms wrap around her waist, "You almost knocked Ryland into the deep end."_

_"Ry, baby, come here," Kayleigh heard herself beckon to a younger boy with a full head of brown hair, so similar to her own._

_"Mommy, are you watching? Mommy, are you watching," the little boy named Ross called to her. She looked up to see him standing at the edge of the pool, waving both of his arms at her._

_"I'm watching, hun, I'm watching," Kayleigh heard herself assure the small boy. Together, her and Derek watched as the little boy named Ross imitated the same tricks his two older brothers had been trying before him, before landing in the pool. Derek and her then watched quietly as the boys and an older version of the little girl, whom they were calling Rydel decided to have a cannon ball contest, which they then proceeded to ban their youngest brother Ryland from participating._

_"Mommy," called the young boy miserably, just as the scene changed once more. _

"_Rocky, please give Rydel back her CD," Kayleigh heard herself say, as she looked down as two young pre-teens, watching intently as the CD exchanged hands._

"_Baby, I know that you may not like her kind of music, but even when you're listening to your music, she doesn't complain," she explained, "So, I'm going to ask you that you give her the same courtesy."_

"_Have you ever wanted to send them off to your parents for a couple of days," Derek asked, wrapping his arms around her waist once more, "Just when they're being large pains in the ass, not when they want something?"_

"_I wouldn't do that to us," Kayleigh chuckled, "If my dad's family starts to think that they're anything less than angels, my mother will be the one to hear it and then we'll be the ones that have to deal with it." The scene changed once more._

_Now, much older versions of the five children were now sitting on the couch opposite from their parents as their Aunt Jenn and Uncle Adam explained the recording contract that they had just been offered._

_"Now, this contract clearly states that depending on the sales of your first EP and album, you will be obliged to release two more albums excluding any EPs that you choose to release," an older Adam explained to the group of teenagers, "Now, you and your parents can choose to fight this at anytime, but I think for where you, as a whole are in your career, this is a pretty good deal."_

_"Mom, what do you think," asked the other brunette, who had her eyes. She felt herself bite her lip in thought. She looked at the five teenagers in front of her, before looking at Derek, who grabbed her left hand in both of his._

_"How many tours, Adam," she heard herself ask, as she turned to look at her high school friend, not even looking at __any of her children. As a person, who had gone through this before, she wanted to know exactly what her children were signing themselves on for._

_"They'll have a small club tour and depending on the album sales, possibly a world tour," Adam explained, "This contract is much similar to the one you and Hawkins got when you first signed and since Ross is a minor, if you and Derek feel that they are pushing him or the band as a whole too hard, you can fight the contract."_

_"And you'll be with them every step of the way," Kayleigh added, turning to Jenn, still not looking at her children._

_"Just like I was for you." _

_Kayleigh turned her eyes to Derek and the two shared a silent conversation before they finally turned and looked at their children._

_"I think that you should-"_

* * *

Kayleigh jolted awake as she heard a loud knock from somewhere in the darkness of the unfamilar-familiar room. Trying to get her boundaries, Kayleigh looked around the dark room. She didn't remember falling asleep in her bedroom at the condo she owned and if she was really honest with herself, she didn't even remember falling asleep. The last thing she remembered clearly was laughing with Derek at the Mr. Greek on the Danforth. After that everything got blurry and the only thing that made her feel slightly better was that she was clearly alone in her bed.

"Kayleigh," called Derek, as he once again knocked on the door. Kayleigh felt herself blush slightly, remembering several aspects of what she hoped to be an alcohol induced dream.

"Kayleigh," Derek called again, "Kayleigh, are you okay?"

"Uh yeah," Kayleigh croaked, due to her dry mouth, "I'm okay. You can come in. I really don't feel like shouting when I am hungover." Even in the darkness, she could see the turn of her door handle. Derek creeped into the room, trying not to let any light in the room, since his host claimed to have a pretty bad hangover.

"Are you sure that your okay," Derek whispered into the darkness, as he tried to feel his way around the large bedroom, so he wouldn't bump into anything and accidentally injure himself.

"I'm not dying," Kayleigh answered, "We can probably rehearse after I convince Alex to go and buy me some McDonald's."

"Are you absolutely sure?"

"Yep," Kayleigh said, trying not to move her head too much. It honestly felt like some non-entity was having band practice in her brain and then less she moved her head, the less noise they made.

Derek watched as Kayleigh slowly combed her manicured nails through her tangled hair. It was quite obvious to him that she was suffering from a large headache, but he had to hand it to her, she still wanted to rehearse for the first show of the season. Part of him wanted to call today's rehearsal off, but the other part of him wanted him to...

His line of thought trailed off, as he watched her trail her tongue across her pink, cupid bow lips and suddenly nothing else mattered.

"Derek," Kayleigh said, breaking the momentary silence, "Have you ever had this weird dream that sort of felt really-" Kayleigh groaned as the screen on her cell phone lit up with the blonde slave driver herself. Grabbing her cell phone off of the nightstand beside her bed, she quickly ignored the call.

"Aren't you going to answer that," Derek asked, pointing to the phone that she threw into the hall scaring Salem, who had slinking into the room.

"Nope," Kayleigh answered, dragging the pillow behind her head in front of her face, "I am way too hung-over to, deal with Jenn right now. She only calls me on my cell phone when it has to do with business."

"Then shouldn't you answer it?"

"Yep."

"Are you going to answer when she calls back?"

"Nope."

"Are you going to answer the phone at all today?"

"Maybe."

"Don't you have to call Alex to get you some McDonald's?"

"Shit!"

Derek chuckled, as he slowly got off the bed, sure that he wouldn't jostle her and make her head feel any worse. Walking out into the hall, he followed the loud buzzing of her phone from yet another phone call from her manager, and brought it back to the bed ridden Grammy winner.

"Thanks Derek," Kayleigh said, as he handed her the bane of her mornings, "If I wasn't so hung-over I would probably try and kiss you, but if it wasn't for this hangover you wouldn't have needed to get the phone that I had purposely thrown across the room…okay, that hurts, no more thinking when I'm hungover."

* * *

"Kayleigh, please call me back," Jenn groaned, as she once again heard the brunette's voice mail kick in for the fifth time, "I need to tell you something extremely important. No, Jordan and I aren't getting married and no, we're not expecting a baby, but I really do need to talk to you. Call me back, you crazy witch."

"I told you that she wouldn't pick up," Jordan chuckled, "By the look of those puctures, she got pretty hammered last night."

"I know, I know," Jenn stated, as she paced in front of him, "But, she needs to find out from me and not from...him."

"Him, who," Jordan asked confused. Jenn screamed in frustration throwing herself back onto their bed, her blonde hair flying about making her look like a crazed banshee. Jordan looked at his girlfriend as she once again tried dialing Kayleigh's cell.

"Babe," Jordan started, grabbing her phone and holding it tightly against his chest, "She's not going to answer, you know that. Now, what's so important that you can't wait until we see her later."

"Um," Jenn stuttered, "Well, I got an e-mail alert from most of the large tabloid magazines are releasing pictures of her and Derek looking quite chummy, and well, um..."

"Um," Jordan prompted, looking at his girlfriend curiously.

"Um, I got a phone call courtesy of the weasel this morning," Jenn explained, which caused Jordan's hands to clench into fists.

"And what did that backstabbing, friend hurting ass want," Jordan asked through hiw gritted teeth. Jenn looked at her boyfriend apprehensively before answering.

"He called to brag-"

"About what?"

"Kayleigh wasn't the only one that the Dancing with Stars producers called," Jenn explained, "Apparently they want to have some real competition and animosity on set, so they called James.

Jordan quickly let out a string of words that could have made a sailor blush. From the moment that Jordan found out about James and his adultery habit, he had been hoping to get his hands on him. He wasn't the only one of course, there were others; Matt the chauffeur, Scott the choreographer, Jason the publicist, Adam the lawyer and Clarke the physical trainer were among them.

"Okay, explain to me, what happened," Jordan said, once he started to calm down a little bit."

""I got a call from his rat of a new manager," Jenn explained, "It seems like getting his own solo album ready for production, his reality show and planning his second wedding aren't keeping him busy enough...apparently he has also decided to compete on Dancing with the Stars."

"Excuse me?"

"Yeah," Jenn answered, "The bastard has decided that he hasn't tortured her enough lately and the moment that she decides to do something for herself, to finally allow herself to get back to normal, he decides that he wants to torture her."

"I'm going to kick his ass," Jordan growled, "I'm going to get Scott, Clarke, Adam, Jason and Matt and we're all going to beat that fucking son of a bitch into a bloody pulp." Jenn grabbed her boyfriend by his arm as he made to leave the room, phone in hand.

"Jordan, relax."

"No, baby, I'm not going to relax," Jordan snapped, "That fucker broke her. He broke her. She used to be the fucking rock in this group and he managed to accomplish what all those high school bullies could never do. He broke her and he continues to intentionally break her with every decision that he makes. I am sick of it."

"I am too, JJ," Jenn whispered, "I want my best friend back. I barely see her in the woman that she's bec-…the woman that he turned her into."

"I know you do, baby," Jordan breathed, sitting back down beside his long-time girlfriend.

"Do you think she'll come back, JJ," Jenn whispered, "Do you think she'll come back to us? Do you think she'll find love again?"

"I think she'll come back to us, baby," Jordan assured her, "She'll come back once she's fully healed, we're already seeing shades of the old her. And as for her finding love again? I don't know, baby, that'll take a little bit longer."

* * *

**A/N: Let me know what you think.**

**xo**


End file.
